BEAUTY salons across the county welcomed back their first clients for almost four months on Monday as lockdown restrictions ease further in England.

But many treatments which require being in close proximity to a client's face, such as facial waxing and eyebrow threading, are not permitted.

Regardless of this setback, beauty salons in Bournemouth, Poole and Wimborne have welcomed clients back with open arms, ready to embrace the working world once more.

HI Therapies owner Rachel Bourne is pleased to be back.

She said: "It feels really good and I love being back. I really missed work. It's quite daunting though as everything is new. A lot of things have changed and we cannot offer face treatments which is quite difficult as a lot of our treatments revolve around the face."

While there is no limit on the number of people within the salon, social distancing must be maintained with safety and hygiene measures in place.

Luckily, Rachel was prepared for the salon's eventual reopening and was able to make the most of the three day's notice by training staff.

Rachel said: "We now have cleaning stations, a new area for staff so they can social distance and hand sanitiser stations. There are also screens on the manicure stations."

Returning to work was also an exciting if unusual experience for Tranquil Moments Beauty in Poole.

Owner Karen Felly is set for a busy few days with the salon "already fully booked for this week."

She said: "Today has been mixed. It's a bit surreal that we can now come back to work. We've all been really excited to come back, the girls love working here. We usually offer a lot of facial waxing but staff here also do nails."

Beauticians at Tranquil Moments will be wearing visors and all safety measures which adhere to the guidance are in place.

Opening day was also successful for The Sanctuary Body & Beauty in Wimborne who have quickly adjusted to the new working environment.

However, owner Xenia Evripides highlighted the impact of not being able to offer facial treatments.

She said: "A lot of our treatments which we can't do are the high-end treatments we offer. We are down 40 per cent of our usual profit at this time. Barbers can still trim people's beards but we can't even do a lip wax which is disposable. It isn't the most ideal situation but today has gone fairly well."

Staff are wearing visors, aprons and gloves for all treatments.

Ensuring premises are hygienic and safe hasn't been a problem for Parkstone based beauty salon BEAUTIQUE.

Owner Lindsay Light said: "We're quite a hygienic industry so we have only made small changes. However, everything is so new so we're not sure what people's reaction will be. It's a pain we can't do facial treatments as people are desperate to sort their eyebrows out."

Despite the challenges thrown Lindsay's way, she and her staff members are very happy to be back.

She said: "I have never not worked, which is hopefully something we will all never experience again. It feels good to be back because in our industry, we are like people's therapists. We go on such an emotional journey with our clients, it's more than just getting your nails done.

"It's so nice that people have waited for us to open and not done anything themselves. We have really loyal clients."